Thirty years ago, on the morning of April 19, 1995, a powerful bomb exploded at the entrance of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, killing 168 people, including 19 children, and injuring approximately 850. Perpetrated by Timothy McVeigh, a Gulf War veteran, the bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. FBI Special Agent Barry Black was one of the first responders at the scene and led investigations with the OKBOMB Task Force, including seizing McVeigh’s getaway vehicle and helping to identify victims. Barry Black joins us to share his firsthand account of that day’s events, detail his role in the investigation, and examine the impact of domestic terrorism in the years since the attack.
About the Speaker
Barry Black’s 31-year career involved complex financial crimes, tactical operations as a SWAT sniper, and support for the Global War on Terror as a master bomb technician. He was a first responder to the bombing of Oklahoma City’s federal building and other high profile domestic events, including the Branch Davidian stand-off in Waco, Atlanta Olympics bombing, and the 9/11 attack in New York City. Black trained highly specialized counterterrorism units internationally and served as a subject matter expert for the U.S. State Department, Scotland Yard, NATO, and has provided expert testimony before Congress. He is a member of Oklahoma’s Law Enforcement Hall of Fame, an Honorary U.S. Air Force Commander, and is currently on faculty at the nationally recognized Forensic Science Institute at the University of Central Oklahoma.
About the Moderator
James J. Dwyer is a Senior Vice President in Bank of America’s Global Corporate Security organization where he oversees the bank’s Threat Management and Security Preparedness programs. Prior to joining Bank of America, Dwyer served for 22 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was first assigned to the FBI’s New York Field Office where he worked Counterterrorism matters, focused primarily on home-grown violent extremists. In 2009, Dwyer was selected to serve on the Counterterrorism Fly Team and was awarded the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for his work on the 2010 attempted bombing in New York’s Times Square. Other assignments included the Assistant Legal Attache in Cairo, Egypt, and Unit Chief in the International Terrorism Operations Section. He was last promoted to Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Counterterrorism program in 2021.
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